The White Queen
by InnerChild
Summary: Obsessed with the whole idea of The Matrix movies, Hel believes with all her heart that thier reality is not their own. And when odd things begin to happen to her, maybe you'll belive, too...
1. Default Chapter

White Queen: First, there's the room you can see through the glass - that's just the same as our drawing room, only things go the other way. I can see all of it when I get up on a chair - all but the bit just behind the fireplace. Oh, I do wish I could see that bit... I want so much to know whether they've a fire in the winter. You never can tell, you know, unless our fire smokes, and then the smoke comes up in that room too.  
  
KillTheKat: ... I guess you're still on that Alice in Wonderland trip, huh Hel?  
  
White Queen: Yup. But it's not like I can help it, since The Animatrix came out and I finally read the bnook it's been inevitable.  
  
White Queen: *book  
  
KillTheKat: And I bet you're still convinced The Matrix exists, huh?  
  
White Queen: Well, what if it did, TK? You never can tell...  
  
KillTheKat: The Matrix and your Sanity are one - Inexistent.  
  
White Queen: You're a funny man...  
  
White Queen: Listen... I'm gonna go for a while, okay? If you do end up seeing Marx, tell him I'm soorrryy, but I simply do not have the patience to wait around until four - o - fucking clock in the morning just to hear what he has to say to avoid a long distance call, must not be that important.   
  
KillTheKat: THAT I can do, I'm playing Tetris... I'm hooked, I'll be up on this caffeine binge for AT LEAST another three hours, so I'll relay that...   
  
White Queen: Thanks much n.n Well... I'm gone, see you.   
  
KillTheKat: Yeah, adios.   
  
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THE//WHITE//QUEEN   
  
A yawn. The girl stretched, mouth agape in an overly loud groan, arms above her head, trying to make things in her room a little less quiet, A little less dark. The music had stopped, opting not to stand and begin the CD over again, she sat in her room, the only illumination coming from her flat screen monitor and the Stereo System's clock, 2:34 AM. Everyone was asleep. She could tell, the pacing footsteps in the hall had gone, another nervous night, more tension.  
  
Her single mother had come home from another botched date, a nervous wreck and more angry than she had been with the last dead beat she picked up at the local bar or laundromat... Fate's always had a funny way with single mothers who have sixteen year old daughters, apparently...   
  
Her name really wasn't Hel... it was just an alias she identified with, like most people in their message board-irc-community. She even knew God to be a twenty-four year old programmer from Brooklyn, New York. It was just simply the way it went. Her real name was indeed Alice, finding it a source of egotism and power that she both resembled the fictional character she loved, and became an icon among a sea of Matrix admirers, knowing enough knowledge to rival any hardcore fan. And to think, when she was young, she hated that name...  
  
Thirsty, she shuffled into the hall, away from her tiny out-of-the-way room, careful not trip over the phone cord that ran under her bedroom door... pathetic, she still had dial up, there just wasn't enough money for a cable modem hookup out in the middle of nowhere, even if it was just her and her mother. Dial up would do, at least she was connected.  
  
In the living room, the VCR was on a blue screen, meaning the movie had finished and rewound. Curious, she couldn't remember watching anything, perhaps her mother had... The sleek black rectangle sat in the carpeted floor, blinking display a perpetual 12:00 AM. The cassette poking out through the opening, she shoved it back in with her toe, the internal motors kicking in and preparing for an audience. Standing impatiently, waiting for the Motion Picture's Association warning to fade, thirst called more harshly than before, and she left the muted set for another round of Coca Cola and 94% fat free, reduced butter, reduced salt popcorn. Yuck.  
  
She could hear the movie starting in the next room, so turning to stand in the hall that spilt to the living room and the bedrooms, she watched the title appear, Appocalypse Now!... a rather intriguing movie, she did always adore the acid dropping surfer, Lance. Her quote on the boards had been   
  
"Not COOOOOL!"   
  
for three weeks prior to viewing it for the first time, and she has since had an odd infatuation with The Doors.  
  
But, she was indeed burnt out on it, and turned back to her room again, carrying a cold and stale bowl of popcorn and a plastic cup filled with fizzy, room temperature coke. Thinking it would just be better to wait for Marx to show, still feeling as ominous as she had earlier, she tapped a key and waited for modem noise to clear, just to hear the sweet sweet sound of an AOHELL Welcome.   
  
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Her buddylist consisted of five or six important people, and the rest aquaintences from her IRC chats. For profile purposes, she'd listed herself on her buddylist as well, for easy access to view herself, to see if she was becoming unhappy with a static profile... one thing that could be said about Hel was that she always changed, and always had interesting profiles. So, the total amount of people online from her thirty something list of people, happened to be KillTheKat, White Queen, and If lt Bleeds. Marx was online... Hel's eyebrow arched, "It's isn't four..." she thought, turning off her away message and IMing her new found friend from a role playing session in a late night Cowboy Bebop channel...   
  
White Queen: Riddle me this, batman. Why couldn't you just call me? I thought you had minutes left on your card...   
  
... A long pause, there was no reply for several minutes. She was beginning to get agrivated... while contemplating signing onto AIM and warning him fifty million times, his message finally came up. But... it made absolutely no sense.  
  
If lt Bleeds: To the looking-glass world it was that Alice said, I've a sceptre in my hand, I've a crown on my head. Let the looking-glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White queen, and me.   
  
White Queen: Rather funny, my love. I can quote that book as well as anyone, but you still haven't answered my question.   
  
If lt Bleeds: I want to meet you. I want you to meet me, at that little diner in that town you live not far from.   
  
If lt Bleeds: Give me three days, and meet me there...   
  
Granted, Marx was quick... but she was quicker. She just wasn't about to agree to terms she didn't quite get... inquisitive as always, she continued reluctantly.   
  
White Queen: One question... Who's your Red Queen? You're not going to be alone, are you?  
  
But it was too late, Marx had left, and she'd recieved an AOL error saying that this member was not currently online... Fuck. She rubbed her eyes, and IMed a final goodbye to TK and frustrated with the utter slowness of her computer, poked the power strip on/off button with her foot, opting to go to bed and contemplate rather than spend another sleepless night looking at Solitare. Three days... 


	2. Red Queen cliche

White Queen: Yeah... he really said he wanted to visit.   
  
KillTheKat: Heh. I think you have an admirer. You skewered his heart with your rapier wit, my dearest Hel.   
  
White Queen: XD Entertaining as that is, what should I do?   
  
KillTheKat: He apparently plans on bringing a friend... a Red Queen. Is he even into the Matrix?   
  
White Queen: I don't know... that's anyone's guess. I haven't even known him long enough to ask him, what does that tell you? I know his name though... but, like mine... it's probably not real...   
  
KillTheKat: *Mock surprise!* You mean to tell me your real name isn't Hel?   
  
White Queen: Quiet you -.-   
  
White Queen: Teekaaay, I'm serious... I need help, what do you think I should do?   
  
KillTheKat: I say... That you not go... as curious as I know you Get, you don't need to die over some stupid mystery... you're all freaked out, like this is something serious or intriguing... Just give it a rest, he's a loser anyway... I mean, fuck... How many double negatives could that fool use?   
  
White Queen: *Giggles.* He was in character, thankyouverymuch.   
  
KillTheKat: Ooh... getting defensive, are we?   
  
White Queen: -.- Again, Quiet. Ahh... fuck... I'm gonna go take a shower and get a bite to eat... much love.   
  
KillTheKat: Heh. See ya.   
  
White Queen signed off at 7:22:05 on June, 7 2003.   
  
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Two days had passed, Hel had gotten up late, sleeping in until two PM, and finally coming out of her room a few minutes after her mom left for work. She was a waitress, working wicked hours for little pay...admirable, but stupid. Standing in front of slightly empty cabinents, thumb hooked on the band of her jeans, discouraged at the lack of instant pudding mix, She was and disgruntled in front of the marred, oak pantry. Brow furrowed, she wasn't happy, "Ooh... headacheheadacheheadache..." the last reminants of lack of sleep, Instead of taking a few asprin, she opted for a -long- hot shower. And so, she drug herself in the direction of the bathroom.   
  
On her way through the hall, she heard the familiar ring of an IM, the stupid annoying high pitched tone that got on your nerves when trying to mow people down in DooM with a double barrelled shotgun. Stopping, she glanced over her shoulder, and down the hall, toward the beaten bedroom door that lead to her lair, the monitor glowing bright blue with the somehat unpleasent halo of AOHELL. "Hmph... dumb ass computer. Won't even sign off when I tell you to... TK's gonna think I'm an ass." She took off her shirt on her way to the room, folding it over her arm and tossing it into the hamper before leaning on the doorframe to read the message in the little white IM box. It'd been a long time since she was surprised by something so small...   
  
The Red Queen: Hello, Alice.   
  
"What...?" Not many people knew her by Alice... and the people that did, knew she preferred Hel... so then, who was this? It couldn't be Marx' Red Queen, could it? She scoffed, leaning forward over the chair to type.   
  
White Queen: So you're Marx' Red Queen... What, you want to challange me to a useless trivia contest about the Matrix or something? I'm sorry to tell you, I've yet to be beaten.   
  
The Red Queen: I'm sure I don't know who or what you're talking about. I think you've made a ...mistake, Alice.   
  
White Queen: Oh... I'm sorry, I jumped to conclusions... you see, a friend of mine...err... nevermind, you neither know me nor care... umm... sorry, who are you?   
  
The Red Queen: Most people would find a black bra like you're wearing sexy... but, for further reference, I prefer sheer white, classic, but interesting.   
  
Her eyes went a little wide, and she cast a morbidly curious glance at her chest. Indeed, she was wearing a black bra. Shocked, her head snapped back to the screen, and her fingers flew over the keys.   
  
White Queen: Hmph. What if I told you that my bra was blue? How stupid would you feel then.   
  
She waited, hand tapping the enter button on her board slightly... riiiing, the IM popped almost as quickly as she hit "send"   
  
The Red Queen: I would not feel stupid at all, because you would be lying. Do you always bite your lip when you're nervous?   
  
She had not realized it, but she had been bitting at her lip in anxiosness... a little blood ran from broken skin, and she froze, hands hovering above the keyboard trying to rationalize the situation, thinking of all the possibilities... A trojan, it had to be... someone was manually controlling her computer from a different location with a Trojan Virus... the webcam. She shot a look into it, pure poison, before she turned on her mic and spoke very stonily and very clearly, "A trojan? COME ON. That is sooo circa 1998. Get off on this, fucking psycho." She blew the lens a kiss before yanking the plug out of the USB port. Annoyed at the intrusion of privacy, she tossed her light hair across her shoulder, and put her away message on, horridly evil and threatening, of course... it read...   
  
"The Time has come," The Walrus said, "To talk of other things. Of shoes and ships and ceiling wax, of cabbages and kings." He-eey. Hel is outro.   
  
She didn't give it another look on the way out her door.  
  
"Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something..." Loud. Noisy, tone deaf, Reclining under the shower, with headphones blaring, listening to a remake of a shitty eighties song by Marilyn Manson, Hel sounded nothing short of obnoxious. She loved when the parental unit was at work, she pretty much did as she damn well pleased. Having neither a lisence, nor a car, though, made it hard to go out and do anything, unless she wanted to make a five hundred yard treck to a stretch of main highway, and hitchike into town ten minutes away with some mass murderer who thought she had a rather attractive jugular vein... Not really her idea of a Saturday afternoon outing... Home was just as good, minus caffeine, she had everything she needed, after the right kind of theft got her her mother's stash of chocolate covered marshmellows. So now, the farthest thing from her mind was a amature and perverted socialite outcast hacker with too much time and too little brains on his hands. Song change, she began to sing this one too, "Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road... time grabs you by the wrist directs you here to..." Her body became rigid. Footsteps, was that what she heard? Attention turned to the bathroom door, she sunk low beneath the shower, tense and cautious... waiting any second for the door to bust inward, and some fiend, or Agent, or burglar or rapist come in search of her with the dirtiest of intentions...   
  
"God damn I'm getting jumpy..." She shook her head, turning the water completely off and stepping out, reaching for a towel to wrap around herself. And still, she was cautious, in opening the door and peeking out before opening it fully, looking through the space between the door and the frame for any hidden assailants. Nothing, no one... she stepped into the quiet hallway, padding back to her bedroom slowly, stopping to take a quick peek around the corner of every door. Nothing, nothing nothing... Her room was just as she left it before, like the rest of the house... there were no intruders. She was really letting things get to her... Though...   
  
"Heeey Dinah!" She picked her ball up from off the bed and dropped it near the ball of fluff.   
  
The small puppy wasn't the cat from the stories, the philisophical kitten whose kitten became the Red Queen... But, her obsession was strong the puppy went from "Switch" to "Dinah" within a month. The dog was curled under the edge of her bed, napping lightly before it's master so rudely interrupted, she just opened an eye, examined the dripping human, and rolled over.   
  
"Psh... fine. I love you too..." wading through the sea of junk that was her life, the Matrix junkie attempted to get clothes, but the messages left by whomever to her away message startled her... 67 messages while she was away...  
  
"What the fuck...?"   
  
She hit the button, one window popped open, and scrolled for what seemed like minutes, all saying the same thing...   
  
The Red Queen: Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something...  
  
The Red Queen: Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something...  
  
The Red Queen: Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something...  
  
The Red Queen: Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something...  
  
The Red Queen: Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something...  
  
The Red Queen: Sweet dreams are made of these, who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas, everybody's looking for something...  
  
Hel, numb, reached what appeared to be calmly for some sort of clothes, dressing very slowly, avoiding noise or movement, choosing somehting light and easy to move in... being rational... she reached for her sneakers.   
  
RING!!   
  
The telephone jarred her, and she stifled a scream, jumping just like a kid at a Nightmare on Elm Street movie. SHe looked at the phone horridly, as if expecting a tongue to come out of the transmitter, just like the movie... but... this wasn't a movie... it was just a phone. She picked it up, pushing the talk button and putting it to her ear.   
  
"Hello?"   
  
"Heeeey Dinah! Psh... fine, I love you too..."   
  
Her own voice. She dropped the phone   
  
The phone became a ball, dropping near a ball of fluff that was a sleeping Dinah... bouncing once... twice... and rolling to a stop. The dog looked at her with one eye and just rolled over. She froze... chilling, her body shook involuntaryily, goosebumps... she could swear... it was almost like Dejavu... 


	3. The Looking Glass World

White Queen: I'm totally out of it... I can't think straight... what's happened?  
  
KillTheKat: I don't feel any different, Hel, are you okay?   
  
White Queen: I don't know... I'm just not me right now, I'm woking on my live journal post too... so I guess I'm just distant.  
  
KillTheKat: Do you need me to call  
  
White Queen: Umm... would you? My mother won't be home for some hours... and... I hate to admit this, but I really am afraid. That... Red Queen thing got me all nervous.  
  
KillTheKat: Sure.. no problem, give me a few minutes, okay?  
  
White Queen: Thanks TK...  
  
White Queen: I hate to make you do this...   
  
KillTheKat: No problem, trust me.   
  
White Queen: Thanks... just let me finish this mail, okay?   
  
KillTheKat: Alright. Talk to you in a bit.   
  
Marx,  
  
I'm sorry... as tempting as it sounds to meet this signifigant other you refer to as "Red Queen" I must decline the meeting. I neither know you, nor trust you as of yet... and that little stunt you pulled, telling that "Red Queen" person my real name, I don't appreciate it in the least. For future reference, I will always be Hel.   
  
Hitting send caused her mail box to jump with a little yellow flagger and the annoying "You've got mail!" tone. She grumbled, she didn't feel like dealing with yet another return to sender because she forgot to make the "L" an"I". She went to the box, and read the sender's name, numbers only, not recgnizing it, she read the mail... it obviously wasn't spam.   
  
To the looking glass world.   
  
It was just a link, and nothing more. Annoyed, she deleted it thinkng horridly to herself "Brash people with their stupid riddles..."   
  
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She clicked the sign off button, grabbing her cordless from off the bed and sitting it next to the mouse. She always got nervous before talking to him... her beating just a little bit faster, why? Who knows... it's just the way she was... maybe she just liked to keep a screen between her and people, there really wasn't a reason. Sighing and tapping her fingers on the desk next to the keyboard... apparently, TK had lost his phone again... he had a nasty habbit of doing that... She waited an hour once while he ransacked his house and car for the little black cellphone... forgetful, that one was... She turned her music up, and continued the draft for a journal post, passing the time with slow fingers. And as suddenly as she drifted off into her own little world, the phone rang, and she jumped to answer it, with a haughty tone.  
  
"TK, I told you... losing your phone is not something intelligent people do."   
  
There was a feminine chuckle on the other end, that drew itself out into a sigh.   
  
"My dear Alice, this is yet again a case of mistaken identity..."   
  
Fear, and anger gnashing thier teeth, begging to be brought to words.  
  
"The Red Queen..."   
  
The lady laughed again, "Only a formality, I assure you... Perhaps, I should tell you my name?"   
  
"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Hel shook, her voice did too, it was apparent. "Why the HELL are you following my around like this?"   
  
The voice grew soothing and maternal, choosing to coo and comfort rather than provide harsh laughter. "Listen to me, Alice. I'm going to tell you some things... you can choose whether to believe me or not, but... in time you will see that I am ultimately correct. Three things will happen. Pay close attention to what I say, and remember it... the hard lines aren't safe... The white Knight will come, the looking glass world will disappear, but the bad luck will not last, and you will learn the similarities between a Raven and a Writing Desk. After this, you will attempt to seek me out, but you will not find me through the looking glass, my dear. When the time comes, I will find you."   
  
The phone clicked.   
  
Hel stood listening to dead air, before she hit the talk button a second time, dumbfounded. The red queen was indeed a woman... she didn't know what to think anymore... the last two or three days had been odd, given... and they just got worse. What was the deal? Who was this "Red Queen"...? Acting so mysterious, it seemed to reflect the movie she held so dear, The Matrix, in every way... secretive phone calls, warnings, riddles, double talk and ambiguous statements... Rubbing her temples, she laughed at herself for making that comparison... it's her own fault, really. She dragged herself into this, by becoming so obsessed, it was just like hallucinating, she was now thinking of things that aren't there or didn't exist, creating espionage in her head. She felt so crazy. The phone rang, she brought it to her ear, listening quietly to TK's voice on the other end, "Hello? Alice?"   
  
"TK... She called."   
  
TK was quiet on the other end for some time, before finally blurting out "The Red Queen..."   
  
Quite shocked, Hel stared dumbfounded, "How did you know that?"   
  
"Honestly? I don't know... I never thought you were crazy, Alice, but damn... you have to admit, it does seem so, I mean, my god... Red Queens? Dejavu? This odd little world you're slipping into it makes no sense!"   
  
Tense, she became defensive, "Look... I don't need this from you, I don't even understand this myself. I don't get it and I'm not crazy and..." Pausing, she continued, "How did you know I was experiencing Dejavu?"   
  
"It was in the link... god, you really do have shit memory."   
  
"Link? I didn't send any link... What are you talking about? I've not even posted that entry in my journal yet..."   
  
Again, quiet... "But... you sent me a print screen image through a link, didn't you? I mean... it was your e-mail address... All it was, was a link."   
  
More chills, she shook her head, this was like a bad suspense novel... it was almost as if she could guess what would happen next, "And the link read 'To the Looking Glass World', didn't it?"   
  
"So you do remember..."   
  
Drawing her hand to her eyes, she groaned, "No. I was sent the same mail, but I deleted it... god damn red queen and her tricks..."   
  
"What are you talking about, Alice?"   
  
"She called, Red Queen... I didn't even get her real name... she told me..." She trailed off... TK would just think her crazy if she went into her whole trip about this being so much like the Matrix, it was inevitable... so she left it alone. "She told me a bunch of creepy stuff, like she has been... stupid fucking hacker bitch..."   
  
"Debug, and don't worry... Forget the woman."   
  
Her eye brow arched instinctively. "TK? Aren't you the least bit interested in who or what she is?"   
  
"Debug, and don't worry... Forget the woman."   
  
"TK...?"   
  
"Debug, and don't worry... Forget the woman."   
  
"TK! Stop this, this isn't funny, you stupid fuck!"   
  
"Debug, and don't worry... Forget the woman."   
  
The phone beeped, an incoming call. There was a rushed and worried voice on the other end of the phone, unidentifyable, but somehow she knew it belonged to that woman.   
  
"You feel alone. You feel outcasted, and you feel crazy. They were designed to make you feel this way. You have very little time. And you have only two choices. Listen to me carefully. You're being watched, even at this second there are people surveying you, as you turn your head now to look out your window, and as you walk into your dark hallway."   
  
Indeed, she had done both.   
  
"I want to tell you something, but I cannot do it here... Meet me."   
  
Warning bells went off in her head, was this just a fucking trend? She grew angry again, trying not to remember this crimson royalty's clairvoyance.   
  
"And if I choose not to?"   
  
She clicked her tongue arrogantly. "You will not wake up tomorrow."   
  
Eyes wide, a statement like that was enough motivation to make anyone listen.   
  
"Alright... I'll meet you, tell me where and when... and tell me your name."   
  
"I cannot tell you, but I can give you a hint. As I have said, you are being surveyed, and now? I am as well. In one of your movies, Alice crossed the first of six brooks and came to a train station. The next brook she crossed brought her into the woods. And the third?"   
  
This was not clear to her, or maybe she had forgotten... thinking on this, Red Queen continued.   
  
"The answer will come. And as for my name? You can call me Apas. Now, help your mother with the groceries." Again, Apas ended the conversation abruptly. She didn't have time to turn the phone off, before she heard her mother call from the doorway, "Alice! Come help me with this!" 


	4. Soliloquy

Do you see how readily she accepts her fate? As if she were destined for all of this, as if the oddity... were meant for her. She is in a state of disillusion, no normal human would accept this and not question it, her mind is warped... she is clearly insane. Look at her, how she thinks this is some grand adventure in wonderland, how she revels in being scared and excited, how she believes she's invincible. The Matrix does not exist, can not exist. It is just not possible. Look to your left, and to your right... do you really believe the objects in your immediate area, the things you smell, the air you breathe, can you believe that these were generated by a computer, by binary code? Zero's and One's telling you that strawberries taste good, that cigarette smoke triggers your asthma, and that you love the person you're in a relationship with, to my knowledge, nothing is as complex as humanity, no code can replace these sensations, right? You're real, right? Aren't you? Now... Prove you exist. Pay no attention to this silly girl, this foolish story, the mind behind it, pay no attention to those sick feelings of doubt in your stomach, the questions in your mind, and that chill making it's way up your spine. Pay no attention to any of it, because... You know you're real... right...? 


	5. Black Onyx?

White Queen: You know what TK!? I thought you were a nice guy, but I guess not, you're just a fucking jerk!  
KillTheKat: Alice, I'm sorry! I couldn't find my phone, I looked for it forever, I'm sorry, I'll call tonight or something!   
White Queen: What...?  
KillTheKat: Yeah I know... I can't find it, it's weird.  
White Queen: You liar, you called me and gave me some weird drone bullshit!  
KillTheKat: I...didn't, I didn't even have my phone, how could I call you?  
White Queen: But... I spoke to you...   
White Queen: And you were going on about the Red Queen, about how I should forget her, and...   
KillTheKat: Hel... Alice, I didn't call, I promise you... are you okay? I'm really worried...   
White Queen: Honestly TK... I don't know....   
KillTheKat: When was the last time you left your room? Or your house for that matter?   
White Queen: Days... listen, I have to go I... I should sleep... I haven't been lately...   
KillTheKat: Do that... get better okay?   
White Queen Has Signed off at 1:11:04 PM   
  
  
  
Somehow, she didn't feel like sleep... finding herself wide awake on her bed, looking at the ceiling, counting the little bits of glitter in the chalk like material... why were they there anyway? To simulate stars at night, when you let just the little bit of light from the bathroom nightlight shine into your room and reflect into your line of vision, keeping you awake with fascination? She shook her head, rolling onto her side into a fetal position. Why? Was the Matrix calling her, was she destined to be free? She closed her eyes. So many weird things, and feelings and events and people and places... And the third of the brooks... what if this was all an elaborate game? Someone messing with her head for the good of their own entertainment? someone with the power to do that, having a sick and morbid sense of humor.   
  
Hel wasn't laughing.   
  
What about a third brook? It was the odds and ends shop where nothing could be seen closely or sold... What did she mean, meet her there? This is just like the thing with Marx, someone wanting to meet her out of the blue... but why? What if... what if the Matrix doesn't exist, what then? What could she be getting herself into... Slowly, her eyes opened again, glancing and her computer screen, a media player was softly whispering digital and interesting sound, and somehow, she didn't feel like sleeping anymore... Compelled by this whole situation, she hadn't slept, hadn't left home, kept the windows drawn and her door locked, she'd begun to look like a zombie... A knock, her eyes darted to her door, her mother leaning curiously on the frame.   
  
"Alice... are you okay, I haven't seen you at all in the past three days... I'm really worried..."   
  
She stared blankly, convinced mothers were just another form of control...   
  
"I'm fine, mom..."   
  
"Maybe you should get out, get some sun... you can take my car if you like... go into town to the store for me? I forgot the milk and sugar, and I need it to make dinner..."   
  
Blink. "Okay."   
  
"Good..." Her mother turned and walked off. Hel looked curiously around the corner, as if expecting her mother to morph into an agent any second... No such luck.   
  
  
  
'Ireallydon'tlikethiscar...' Hel thought, pulling into a small parking lot next to the grocery store and parking next the the large white marble statue of some unknown Civil War general, the plaque read "In honor of James P. Night patron of this township." How horridly cliché. It was nestled among a couple of interesting and out of the way shops, including a jewlrey store, antiques shop, and a newspaper office. The Chronicle. A b-rate paper with nothing to offer but the "Buy, sell, and Trade" page.   
  
Her foot slipped and hit the accelerator, the car reversing rapidly and hitting a railing with the driver's side mirror. Scowling, she pulled forward and got out, surveying the damage hatefully. Well, her mother would love this... a busted mirror. Noise. They were renovating this part of town, new sidewalks and benches, filling up the potholes in the street, trying to attract tourists with cute 'bed and breakfasts' with names like R&R Inn. She crossed the street, musing at the children vandalising the wet cement with mischevious glances and quick fingers. A street worker caught this out of the corner of his eye and yelled, they scattered. Hel shook her head laughing, and glancing down at what was written, intrigued her, it didn't seem like a normal thing children would write...   
  
"Flat notes? nevaR!"   
She cocked an eyebrow, and continuing on down the dry portion of sidewalk in a state of confusion.   
  
She glanced in windows, eyeing a particularly lovely locket in the window of the jewlery store, in the shape of a feather... apparently custom made from the over a thousand dollar price tag... A pout, it was truly lovely. And the sun moon and star ring next to it, didn't cost as much, but more than she had nonetheless. Disheartened, she continued down... she always loved the antiques shop, it always had the most interesting odds and ends and some beautiful victorian jewlrey... She had an odd obsession with it, necklaces and rings mostly, lockets. She had a weakness for them. Scanning the window, she admired a doll, china doll, a vase made of black glass and a lace table cloth. She smiled, eyes trickling down to the bottom, where a black veltvet box caught her attention. It was a platinum colored necklace, with a onyx charm shaped like an anhk. She could have squeaked. She ran through the door, bells announcing her presence in such a lovely and clear way. The place was dimly lit, and unorganized looking at first glance, but appealing. A method to the madness. She glanced at the clerk who was burried behind a book, a dream interrpretation studies piece by Carl Jung. The clerk, a woman in her early thirties glanced up with a weary smile.   
  
"How may I help you?"   
  
Hel tapped her fingers anxiously across the glass top of the counter and spoke, "I want the charm necklace in the window... the egyptian one..."   
  
The woman pulled herself up and leaned over the display, retrieving the box. "I suppose you're Alice, then? I was told you'd be in for this... so I put it away for you. Onyx is a beautiful stone, is it not?"   
  
She cast a curious glance at the woman. "Umm... what?"   
  
"Oh... you're not Alice, I'm sorry I.."   
  
Hel broke in, "No... I'm Alice... I just..." She stopped and looked about, standing in an odd store of things she could not see so clearly... she could have smacked herself... This is... was this the doing of the red queen? How would she know...?   
  
"The lady that reserved this for me, did she say anything...?"   
  
"Well, yes... she left a note, in fact. Here, I'll get it for you." She sat the box on the counter and lifted a sealed UPS envelope from a display case, handing it across the glass. It was addressed to Hel, and not Alice. "And thank you for stopping by, do you want me to wrap this for you?"   
  
"What?"   
  
"The lady's paid for this already, as a gift I suppose. Have a nice day!"   
  
  
  
'Nice day indeed...' Hel muttered, feeling the sudden urge to just come out and say something like "Mister Wizard get me the hell out of here," or something... She tore open the envelope, holding the closed jewlrey box between her knees. And she could have predicted it before she saw it, a cellphone and a note, scribbled in red lettering.   
"Hit Dial"   
"Curiouser and curioser..." She hit the Dial button, putting the phone to her ear.   
  
.... Click. "Alice, you do well for yourself."   
  
"Bite me. I want answers."   
  
"I understand your frustration, the answers will come in time..."   
  
"Time, I'm not convinced I have. I think I'm going crazy, tell me something... does the Matrix exist?"   
  
"..."   
  
"Apas, does the Matrix exist?"   
  
"As much as you believe that you could handle whatever truth I'm willing to give to you, you have no idea how unprepared you really are... Movies and anime and stories are one thing, but... as to the answer of your question... I don't really know myself."   
  
"You know, as comforting and fun as this game is, I don't have the patience to deal with your vague prophet shit..."   
  
"You will soon discover what I mean... Give it time."   
  
"Time is an imaginary concept created to make life difficult. Saying that all you have is time, is silly. Time sucks. Time has neither shape nor form, but can act like a wall, stopping you in your tracks, and when you say to give it time, I laugh. I would love to give time away. But I cannot, now... Stop playing this game. Tell me... am I real?"   
  
"Reality is what you make of it... consciousness and concept. The only way you can exist, is if you can prove you do."   
  
"How can I prove to myself that I exist? I think I exist, but if I don't... then, I'm betraying and confusing myself into a state of disbelief. How can I not exist?"   
  
"Sometimes it's better not to think." Apas sighed.   
  
"And sometimes it's better to contemplate heavily on a solution. What is my solution?"   
  
"Time."   
  
"You're funny."   
  
"Keep this phone with you, I will call. I promise, soon... You will know everything you need to know."   
  
Click.   
  
Hel glanced at the phone, and yelled "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO MYSTERIOUS AND RUDE ABOUT YOUR GOODBYE'S YOU KNOW!" and smashed the "end call" button with her thumb. Well... it wasn't a complete waste... At least now she had a pretty little trinket to match her dark and dismal outlook on life. 


End file.
